Ontario Provincial Nominee Program (Opportunities Ontario)

Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program is an immigration program through which Ontario nominates individuals and their families for permanent resident status based on a pre-approved job offer in the province.

Approved employers can recruit foreign workers through the General Category and International Student Category.

General Category

To be eligible as a foreign worker, prospective nominees in the General Category must demonstrate that they qualify for the approved position by providing evidence that they have:

at least two years of work experience (within the previous five years) in the intended occupation, or have appropriate registration in Ontario, if applying for a position in a regulated occupation in Ontario.
an approved permanent full-time job offer in a skilled occupation (NOC 0, A or B).
an offered wage which meets the prevailing wage level for the intended occupation.
legal status, if the prospective nominee is in Canada.
the employer's approval letter, Joint Verification form signed by their prospective employer, and Pre-screen Position form.

Since you need a job offer in order to apply under the General Category of Ontario PNP, we invite you to start your job search in Ontario with our free Canada Job Search Tool

International Student Category

Currently the International Category of Opportunities Ontario, has three sub-categories:

Students with job offer, PhD graduates and Masters graduates

Students with a job offer

In order to apply to Opportunities Ontario as an international student, students must:

have completed at least half of their studies in Canada, and have graduated or will soon be graduating from an eligible publicly funded Canadian college or university;
have completed a minimum of a two-year diploma or degree program, while studying on a full-time basis;
have a job offer in a managerial, professional or skilled trades occupation (NOC 0, A or B). The job offer does not have to be related to the field of study;
have a job offer that is permanent and full-time and meets the entry level wage for the occupation, rather than the prevailing wage required for applicants in the General Category;
apply within two years of the date on which they received their degree or diploma, or in the alternative, during the last semester of completing their degree or diploma;
have legal status, if the prospective international student nominee is in Canada;
have received their employer's approval letter, Joint Verification form signed by their prospective employer, and Pre-screen Position form;

International students do not need to have any previous work experience. Eligible international students may apply for an approved position from within Canada or from overseas.

Since you need a job offer in order to apply under the International Student Category of Ontario PNP, we invite you to start your job search in Ontario with our free Canada Job Search Tool

PhD Graduates

If you are a graduate of a PhD program in one of Ontario’s publicly funded universities, you may be able to apply to Opportunities Ontario for nomination as a permanent resident, under the International Student Category’s PhD Graduate Stream.

Ontario’s PhD graduate students do not require a job offer.

In order to apply to Opportunities Ontario as an international PhD graduate in Ontario, students must:

Have graduated from an existing PhD program at an eligible publicly funded university in Ontario, OR
Have successfully completed all degree requirements for the program (i.e completion of course work and successfully defended their thesis and are awaiting the granting of their degree), AND
Have completed at least two years of their PhD studies at an eligible publicly funded university in Ontario.
Apply within two years of the date on which their PhD degree was granted.
Have legal status, if the international PhD graduate applicant is in Canada.

Ontario international PhD students may apply for the program from within Canada or from overseas.

Masters Graduates

If you are a graduate or will soon be graduating from a Masters program from one of Ontario’s publicly funded universities, you may be able to apply to Opportunities Ontario for nomination as a permanent resident, under the International Student Category’s Masters Graduate Stream.

Ontario’s Masters Graduate students do not require a job offer.

In order to apply to Opportunities Ontario as an international Masters graduate in Ontario, students must:

Intend to live and work in Ontario.
Have graduated from an existing Masters program at an eligible publicly funded university in Ontario.
Have completed a minimum of one academic year degree program, while studying on a full-time basis.
Apply within two years of the date on which their Masters degree was granted, or in the alternative, during the last semester of completing their degree.
Currently be residing in Ontario.
Have legal status in Canada (i.e. study permit, work permit, temporary resident visa)
Demonstrate high official language proficiency (For English language proficiency – IELTS – General test with a minimum score of 7 or higher) (For French language proficiency – TEF – with a minimum score of 5 or higher).
Demonstrate a minimum level of savings/income to support themselves and their dependants.
Demonstrate at least one year of residence in Ontario in the past two years.

Employer Eligibility

Companies applying to Opportunities Ontario must:

have been in active business for at least 3 years (corporations, limited partnerships and sole proprietorships).
have a minimum of $1,000,000 in gross revenue for the most recent fiscal year (for companies inside the Greater Toronto Area), or have a minimum of $500,000 in gross revenue (companies outside the GTA).
have a minimum of 5 permanent full-time employees (for companies inside the Greater Toronto Area), or have a minimum of 3 permanent full-time employees (companies outside the GTA).
have business premises in Ontario where the prospective nominee will work.

For more information on Ontario Provincial Nominee Program, see our Ontario Provincial Nominee Program FAQ.

Learn more about province of Ontario